Gingakuji (銀閣寺The Silver Pavilion) has a peculiar entrance. The 6 meter tall camellia shrubs are well aligned, making one feel like walking along a green castle wall.
After receiving a large ticket beautifully written in calligraphy, one can see a few handsome pine trees on the left and will see a big heap of sand, Kogetsudai (向月臺) in Karesansui (枯山水) garden covered with white sand. I could not stop looking at the very unusual imagery of waves of the island country, Japan and the mountain Fuji.
Beyond the garden there is the main building of this temple, Gingakuji. Its official title is Kannonden (観音殿) and each floor was built in different styles of architecture. On the top of the pavilion, there is a gilt bronze phoenix facing the east. It is a meaningful historical site as the birthplace of Higashyama Bunka (the Culture of the Eastern Mountain) that combined the Samurai culture and the ideals and aesthetics of Zen Buddhism in the Medieval Japan.
Having seen the Kingaku-ji (金閣寺, The Golden Pavilion) covered by gold, people often ask where is the silver in the Silver Pavilion. If it were to be like the former, it should have been covered by silver. However, each of the old aged dark timber itself serves as a national treasure, spurting out the dignity of its long history.
Climbing up the hillside following the sightseeing route, one can overlook the Silver Pavilion and the Karesansui Garden and some parts of the Kyoto city center. Probably because it is not that cold in the middle of winter in Kyoto, the light-green moss, like a velvet carpet, sparkles its beauty even in late December.
In Kyoto, there are three thousand Buddhist temples. Tourists have to choose about eight or nine in order to enjoy the beauty of the architectures and gardens of the temples during three or four days. Most tourists realize that it is impossible to see the whole Kyoto in a few days like any other city in the world and they usually end up coming back. Among the chosen temples, probably due to the influence of guidebooks, the Golden Pavilion is almost always included.
It is because the gold-coated pavilion is unique and its snow covered golden pavilion is attractive enough to be captured in calendars and postcards. Furthermore, it is also because of the famous novel, Kingakuji by Mishima Yukio (三島由紀夫).
The garden of the Golden Pavilion is indeed worthy to see. If I had to choose only one between the two, though, I would choose the Silver Pavilion with its elegant and profound beauty over the Golden Pavilion glittering with golden color.
To this extent, I prefer Gingakuji and I love the dignity and elegance of its garden. It is beautiful in any season but especially wonderful in the season of verdure and the one of autumn leaves. Whenever I walk up the hill along the velvety moss of the Silver Pavilion, the sincerity, devoted to each and every tree and stone of the garden, tranquility and quiet peace pervade my mind.
Taking the left turn into a small alley right in front of the Gingakuji temple, one can reach the top of the Daimonji Mountain marked with a giant Dai (大) character in about an hour. I had always wanted to climb up that mountain I could always see from a distance from the Kamogawa River next to my flat and went there three times after asking around. The climbing path is nice and one gets to sweat enough to reach the top, where one can enjoy the great scenery of Kyoto city at a glance. Given its population is 1.2 million, Kyoto seems to be fairly spacious and well structured.
Since Kyoto was built in a basin, it goes up to 40 degrees in Celsius in summer but I do not feel like it is so humid and hot, probably because it is surrounded by mountains.
Whenever I speak highly of my hometown, Seoul, I used to say, “There is no city in the world with so many mountains. Look at Tokyo, New York, Washington, Paris, and London, for example, there are all on the flat lands. Where would you find mountains like these?” After seeing Kyoto from the top of this Daimonji Mountain, that the whole city is completely encircled by mountains, I do not think I can say anymore that Seoul is the only mountain city in the world.
If anybody asks for tips for a two-or-three-day trip in Kyoto, my recommendation would always include Gingakuji. What is even better would be to spare some time for a hike up the Daimonji Mountain in the course of visiting the Silver Pavilion.
